My dear brothers and sisters,

Welcome back to this week’s Bishop’s Blog!

I would like to post my homily at the Virtual Lourdes Pilgrimage concluding mass.

Well, we’ve had the Opening Mass, Father Peter Sayer celebrated the Grotto Mass from St.Thomas More, Lancaster. Father Philip Conner celebrated the Mass for the Sick from St.Joseph’s, Lancaster, and that evening Father John Paul Evans led a Holy Hour from the Cathedral. Father John Moriarty celebrated a Mass for Vocations from Castlerigg.Various other events may have been arranged through a link to Lourdes itself, Rosary, Stations of the Cross, Torchlight Procession. My thanks go out to all the individuals who helped make it happen, and to all who have managed to be with us for at least some part of the Pilgrimage. Questions remain. Have you had your money’s worth? Have your prayers been answered? Do you sense the benefit from this Virtual Pilgrimage, or will you be looking for a refund? How do we measure its value? What’s next now that it’s almost over? Do we put it all away, move on, and hope things are better next year? What is its legacy?“Tell them, ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’.”
This is the theme of Lourdes Pilgrimages for this year. As always, the theme is given to us for reflection not only during the days and nights of the Pilgrimage. It is a lasting gift to each of us from Our Blessed Lady. How can we value this particular gift, given to us in this particular year, 2020, the year of the dreaded pandemic? How is it relevant? How will it help us? How will it help you?

Saint Bernadette wanted to know the name of the Vision so that she could tell the authorities who it was she saw in the grotto at Massabielle. (‘Nutters’ are not unknown in the Church, and the local Parish Priest was justified in his initial scepticism) She had to ask Our Lady four times who she was. Finally, she was given an answer, not a name, but a mystery; ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’. This was more important than the name. Yes, names are important, but this tells us more about Mary than even knowing her name. Of all the things she could have answered she chose this, probably knowing that Bernadette would not have heard it before, and would not have been able to explain what it meant.Let’s take a moment to remember just what it does mean, and why it is so important for us. In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed a new Dogma for the Church.
“The Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular Grace and Privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Christ Jesus, Saviour of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.”
You won’t find the words ‘Immaculate Conception’ in the Scriptures, but you will find its Mystery. This title takes us back to the very beginning of her life, the moment she was conceived. And it takes us even further back than that, to the time when God created heaven and earth, and invites us to understand that creation has a purpose, as does every life conceived – to give glory to God. “Before the world was made, He chose us, in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in His presence”
When I was a parish priest, a popular Gospel chosen for funerals was from St. John chapter 14. It is where Jesus tells us, “I am going to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, you may be too.” That brings people a lot of comforts when they think of heaven being got ready for Pat Connelly, or Canon Frank Cookson, or for Father Gaskin’s brother-in-law, Brian, or your own mother, or spouse or whoever it might be who’s died. It tells us something important about the God we believe in. He does ‘personal’! He knows each of us.

He has a desire and He plans. Every now and then it happens that someone makes a mess of your plans, often by accident, but sometimes on purpose. And even worse, sometimes we mess up the plans -and the lives – of others. At best it’s unfortunate; at worst, it’s devastating, and life never recovers. The damage is too bad. We just have to learn to live with it. But it can be like learning to live with only half a life.When things all began to go wrong in the Garden of Eden, so soon after the start, God never lost sight of His original desire and purpose. It’s a bit like what happened in the Second World War when there was the awful failure of Dunkirk. As that was happening, certain people’s minds were already beginning to think, ever so simply, of a return to Europe, a re-invasion. It eventually happened years later with the Normandy Landings. Similarly, faced with the catastrophe of Paradise lost and the broken relationship, the broken love of Eden, the Father was more intent than ever in finding us a way back, even if His children thought it impossible.The Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady is the beginning of His Victory over all sin. The tide had turned. The answer Our Blessed Lady gave to Saint Bernadette – and to us all – is that we are not just passive spectators or anaethetised (sp) patients awaiting the operation; we can co-operate in making it happen. Lourdes carries the truth of this. Pilgrims become co-workers with Christ.Each of the events of this past week have shown us how God touches our lives with His healing Grace. Without doubt, we know about the problems we live in, and even the problems we cause ourselves and others. We know of the problems that are our own, the problems of our families, health, relationships, and the rest. We know of the problems affecting the poorest, migrants, refugees, and the rest. We know of the problems in politics and in nature. They overwhelm us. And as we grow older and as our faculties begin to fail, hope can begin to fail too. But each event of the Pilgrimage has shown us there is reason for hope, not found first in us but in God’s love. Our Virtual Lourdes Pilgrimage has been a journey deeper into that love. No wonder Our Lady of Lourdes smiled as Saint Bernadette gazed at her!A pilgrimage doesn’t make the problems go away. One pilgrim once came back after a wonderfully up-lifting week only to find that the dog had died. All was undone in an instant! So, what have we brought back? What have we been given? The dawn of a new day. Not a new day full of dread or drudgery, but beginning with a quiet, kindly light, the light of Salvation. Christ is Risen. Sin is forgiven. A day of healing. Have your prayers been answered? Yes, because they have been heard. Have your prayers been answered? Yes, because the Father has a kind purpose for you. Have your prayers been answered? Yes, because your sufferings and troubles have been given a place alongside the work of our Blessed Saviour.Confidence in our Faith and religion are found first in the faithful love of God, made real in Mary’s yes to the Father’s request that she might be His Son’s way into not just our world, but our hearts. As our Pilgrimage comes to an end let us hold in prayer for the days to come those whose needs are greatest, those whose despair is deepest. May the Lord continue to bless each of you, and guide your way into His new day that dawned in the Immaculate Conception.

As ever in Christ,

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster.

My dear friends in Jesus Christ,

Welcome back to this week’s Bishop’s Blog!‘Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage, as streams in dry land.’
My dear companion pilgrims, let us begin our Virtual Lourdes Pilgrimage with this powerful prayer taken from today’s psalm. It is the inspired Word of God. It has the ability to find us where we are and to give us hope of a better life. That hope lies at the heart of pilgrimage, hope that we can move from the places and conditions in which we presently find ourselves, not just to a better place, but to the best.Lockdown is a word we are used to hearing. It is a condition in which we find ourselves due to the current pandemic. We can use this word to help us begin this pilgrimage. Lockdown is a condition we are prepared to accept for a purpose. We accept it as a temporary necessity, imposed on us so that we may reach, in time, a better state of life for ourselves and for society. Lockdown is not a state we want to remain in for ever. We want it to pass. We long to be unlocked, unbound.We know that Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God and son of Mary, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As He grew older, even whilst still a child, He found in His heart a strong desire to make one particular journey above all others. What was that journey? What was that supreme desire? The Gospels are very clear that His lasting desire was to return to the Father.The Gospels are also clear that it is a journey He does not wish to make alone. Again and again, in His words and His attitude to others, He invites each of us to ‘follow’. He comes to us so that we can go with Him. Our Catholic tradition of recognising the Real Presence of Jesus is not designed to keep us in the same place, settling down and staying at home. It is so that we can ‘follow’ Him on His way. Pack your bags, choose what is needed, leave what isn’t needed. He wants access to your hearts in order to ignite your hope, fire your imagination and enable you to set out on the way to the Father with Him.We start this journey by listening to Christ speaking in our hearts and speaking to our hearts, and we learn that the journey will have an end not in Lourdes, or Fatima, Rome or Jerusalem, but in heaven. As Saint Paul tells us:
For us, our homeland is in heaven.
And again,
We know that when the tent we live in on earth is folded up, there is a home built by God for us, an everlasting home, not made by human hands, in heaven.We are called to live joyfully in this passing world as we make our journey, because of where we are going, and because of who we are with. A secular culture can rob us of what Faith has given us. It locks us down into believing that this world is all there is. We are told that lockdown is necessary in order for us to protect life and save lives. Secular culture would have us believe that this world, this life is all there is; there is nothing to follow. As citizens of the world we are content to comply with the restrictions for the sake of caring for our neighbours. But as people of Faith we know of another life to be lived, the Life of Grace, given to us by the Creator, lost through sin, but restored to us by the loving Sacrifice our Saviour, and shared with us above all in the Mass.We are not making a secular pilgrimage, that would only get us as far as Lourdes. We are making a pilgrimage of Grace, with an eternal destination, beyond the reach of all harm. Mary made this pilgrimage and even now returns to look for her children, to see that they are part of the company, helping to rescue those who have fallen by the wayside. St.Bernadette also made this Pilgrimage.She shows us that we are all capable of the journey because we are led by Christ. He is not the ‘tour-guide’. He is the Good Shepherd who never leaves His flock untended. He is not indifferent to the struggles of the poor. He does not give up on those hurt by the world. He does not give up on those tempted to give up before they even set out. He will not leave the weak and tired. He is always coming back to us, tending our wounds, calming our fears, renewing our hopes of reaching that ultimate destination, the heart of the Father.I am deeply grateful to those who suggested we make this virtual pilgrimage this year, when we are physically unable to leave our homes. Although I cannot see you, I am confident that we form one company in Faith and Love, in Joy and generosity of spirit. We each carry our own sufferings and problems as well as those of others. (How often I hear one pilgrim say to another, ‘May I carry your bag?’)Lockdown has added to our troubles, affecting some more than others. Over these coming days, we will notice one another and reach out to one another, just as Jesus notices and reaches out to us. For some it may be your first experience of such a pilgrimage. I am conscious that many will not have the technology or the skill to take part online. Even so, you will be part of the pilgrimage because you want to break free of Lockdown, and because you are people of Faith.So, Jesus leads us on our pilgrimage. We recall His words to the mourners as He stood outside the tomb of His friend Lazarus, ‘unbind him. Let him go free.’ Through our prayers – especially the Mysteries of the Rosary – and through our acts of charity let us obey His command to unbind one another, so that we can each go free, free to follow Him to the Father.Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us,
Saint James, pray for us.

I extend to each of you and to each person for whom you pray my blessing.

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

Welcome back to this week’s Bishop’s Blog!

I would like to share with you the homily given by  Canon Alf Hayes at Canon Cookson’s Funeral!I was pleasantly surprised when Peter Draper said Frank had asked in his will for me to preach his panegyric. But then he added: it said “As all my old golfing buddies are dead, ask Alf Hayes to do it”. So, here I am, the Sub coming off the bench, but very happy to do so, to pay tribute to a good friend.I first met Frank at the Willows when, as a kid, we lived at RAF Weeton. My sister Vera, who was 13 was in love with him. He was a big handsome fella, and I dare say set a few hearts a flutter. Dave Elder told me that people used to say of Frank ‘What a waste’ and when Frank was told this he would laugh it off, point to his waist and say, ‘That’s not waste, that’s all good stuff!’ A few years later I knew him at Underley where, as Bursar, his crowning achievement was, without doubt, overseeing the build of the new chapel, which won a prestigious award for architecture.Of course, he had a life before I knew him, and I’m very grateful to Brenda Murphy for the following biographical details.
In his early teens he applied to the Diocese to try his vocation to the priesthood, but at his medical was found to have a shadow on his lung, so was turned down. At that time TB was a concern. As a boy of 15 he had spent time in hospital with peritonitis, which had left a scar on his lung, so maybe that was the shadow. Not long after being turned down, he was ’called up’ to join the Navy. That, of course, meant a rigorous medical examination, which revealed he was not, in fact, suffering from TB. Frank did his basic training in Skegness and special to Arms Training in Scotland. His first posting was via HMS Indomitable to Malta, as a radio operator, stationed on the cliff tops.After the war, he re-applied to train for the priesthood. This time the VG, Monsignor Eton, said that if Frank was fit enough to serve his country, he was fit enough to serve the Church, and he was sent to Ushaw. There he was the envy of the other students, as he had a brand new Demob suit, new shoes and an allowance of £100 per year for books and fees.He was ordained with the Hodgson twins in 1953 at the English Martyrs, Preston, and had he lived just a little longer, would have celebrated his 67th year of priesthood this Sunday, 19th July. His first appointment was to St Mary’s, Barrow where he had a very happy time with Fr Tom Sowerby who had a motorbike. They had great fun taking it apart, repairing it, and bombing around the Lake District. Of his many postings, one with a major difference was the taking over of Cleator Moor from the Benedictines. Lightning had brought the church steeple down, causing immense damage, and the presbytery needed a lot of work. If I remember rightly, Frank and Noel Mullin, his Curate, lived in a caravan while the repairs were going on.As everyone knows, Frank was a great golfer. Once, booked in to play with John Dobson at a club in the south of England, they discovered another Diocese was having its annual comp there that day. When they said they were priests, they were invited to play. Both were in their heyday, as single figure handicap golfers, and won all the prizes on offer, which forced a new rule to come in, with immediate effect, namely, that prizes could not be won by priests from outside their Diocese. Once, I remember coming off the 18th at Ulverston, as a ball landed on the green from miles back. It was Frank’s, of course. As he arrived alongside, I remarked what a fantastic shot to the green from such a distance. Without missing a beat, he said with feigned surprise, “Oh, is it not in the hole?”That’s as far as I’m going with anecdotes about Frank today, because, unlike the current fashion for making funerals into a memorial service, ‘A Celebration of the Life of Someone’, we all know why we’re really here; not so much to say what a great bloke he was, even though that’s true, but to pray for the repose of his soul, something I certainly hope people will one day do for me.Most priests, like most people I’m sure, when they look back on their lives, wonder if they could have done better, and are fully aware that they have not become perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. So, the scripture readings I have chosen reflect the life of any priest who has simply tried to do his best, knowing, that in spite of his weakness, faults and failings, if he puts all his hope in Christ, the job somehow gets done. “Hope is not deceptive, says St Paul, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us”.Frank wasn’t perfect – nor am I – who is? The first priests were far from perfect, yet Christ chose them to go out and bear fruit, because he knew that at heart, they we’re good men, and so are we. That’s why in the gospel it is so reassuring to hear those words, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am”. For him, that means he trusts us, and for us, that we belong to him.
That sense of belonging pervades our life. We even joke about it – when it doesn’t rain on a Monday for golf, or when a parking space becomes available as we arrive, we say ‘He looks after his own’. It’s an easy-going relationship we have with the God who loves us, and I think, for the most part, we priests are blessed to have a fairly easy-going relationship with each other, based on that belonging.Certainly that has been my experience over the years. I was very fortunate to grow up as a priest in a Diocese where it was commonplace to call in on a presbytery to “waste” an hour in other priests’ company, usually filled with laughter and great sense of camaraderie. And it was people like Frank, and lots more of his generation, that made it so much easier for we younger priests coming through, to feel part of that brotherhood. Of course, there were lots more of us in those days, which made “wasting” time together a much easier thing to do. Life is a lot tougher for young priests today.I want to finish with the beautiful words of Psalm 133 “How good it is when brothers dwell in unity: it’s like oil on the head, running down the beard, copious as the dew of Mount Hermon falling on the heights of Zion, where the Lord confers his blessing – everlasting life”.
As I was leaving Valladolid for ordination, the Vice Rector, a Liverpool priest, said to me, “Clergy funerals in Lancaster are really great – if you get the chance, invite me along”. I soon found out that was true – they were big affairs: priests travelled from every corner of the Diocese to concelebrate Mass, and very few rushed away after the meal. It was part of the camaraderie I mentioned earlier.Frank was very much one of the brothers who fostered unity in our Diocesan priesthood, so it’s very sad that so many of his brothers cannot be here today for his funeral, because of Covid 19. Sad too that so many people whose lives he touched cannot be here either.
But, wherever we are, we can still pray that, like the dew falling from Mount Hermon on the heights of Zion, the Lord will confer his blessing on Frank – everlasting life.

May he rest in peace.

My dear Friends,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog!I am surprised and encouraged by the number of our churches opened for private prayer. Moving at a slower pace, I am also encouraged by the number of parishes where the clergy and parishioners have started public worship, Holy Mass.Given the long list of necessary things to have in place, it is an indication of our devotion to Our Lord. There is no doubt, it would have been easier – a lot easier – not to bother. But you have bothered. I am very aware that we are not out of the woods yet, and there is the constant threat of a ‘second spike’, We must do all we can to manage the risk whilst also taking advantage of the Government’s gradual relaxing of restrictions.‘Protect life’ was and remains one of the duties we have. Added to that, we exist as a Church to also protect eternal life, won for us by Our Lord, Jesus Christ. May the Lord keep us and our families safe. May prayer in the home deepen our desire to meet Him in the Eucharist, and ultimately in eternity.A number of parishes have been able to offer live streaming and I know this has been very much appreciated across the Diocese. Parishes offering this service are under a greater burden to show good practice and demonstrate that they are fully compliant with all the regulations we are subject to. (For once, I think I’m glad not to be a Parish Priest any more. I get my headaches in other ways!)Speaking of eternal life leads me to mention Canon Frank Cookson who died a week ago at Nazareth House, Lancaster. May he rest in the peace of Christ. Canon Cookson’s Requiem will take place at St.Thomas’s church, Claughton-on-Brock, this coming Friday. It is the parish in which he was Baptised in 1926.His mortal remains will be laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery adjoining the church. (He will be in good company! I have relatives in there.) I wish to thank the Sisters and staff at Nazareth House, the staff at St.Winefride’s where Frank lived in retirement for some years, and all who have been attentive to him in these final years of his life. May the Lord also remain close to Frank’s two sisters, Eileen (who lives in Canada), and Doreen (in West Cumbria). Two of his siblings, Paul and Christine, pre-deceased him.As we lay one priest to rest it gives me quiet joy to be preparing to interview a young man offering himself for seminary. Please pray for James Knight, and for all our young men in seminary formation, and for vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and Christian marriage.

With my blessing, especially for those of you who need it most,
+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster